Global warming is forcing ski resorts to review their economic model.
Published in 2024 by the French Court of Auditors, “Mountain resorts facing climate change” is an alarming report for the ski market. “France is a major destination for winter tourism”, recalls the document which emphasizes that the nation “ranks 2nd in the world, after the United States”.
But faced with this “risk”, he continues further, “all stations will be more or less affected by 2050”. It is an understatement to say that the situation is critical. Especially since certain sites are already experiencing warming.
This documentary, in a first inventory, highlights these few places already impacted, such as Super-Besse, in the Massif Central. This place, once covered in snow, even struggles to exploit its powder snow, now described here by the employees of “cultivation snowe” (and no longer “artificial”). Their alternative, presented as ecological, however requires a lot of energy.
-Fortunately, others are already planning for the mountain of the future while some are clinging to the branches. Especially since the solutions to take advantage of these unique environments are numerous and encourage optimism.
We want Émilie as proof. An aspiring guide who brings tourists back to simplicity, organizing picnics at an altitude of 1,500 meters, inviting her clients to savor local products.
Hautacam, in the Pyrenees, has also started its transition by offering activities (sledding on rails, cycling at a height of 50 meters, etc.) available in summer and winter. While associations are simultaneously seeking to protect this environment, the time is not for resignation, but for innovation. As long as it stays green.
